Even the Liberal New Republic...

... is blogging about basketball.

Of course, this was inevitable, because college basketball is inherently a liberal sport. There's no sports analogue for welfare and affirmative action better than the "atuomatic bid" system that allows small conference champions into the NCAA tournament, giving them the same chance at the title as teams from the power conferences.

College football on the other hand, is the quintessentially conservative sport, at least in the modern Republican sense of "conservative." Two teams are hand-picked from the power conferences to play for the "championship," while everybody else is locked out. The rich get richer, and the poor play in the Humanitarian Bowl a week before Christmas.

Hockey, of course, represents libertarianism.

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and baseball is....?

Of course, pro football is the socialist sport, with salary caps and revenue sharing to keep the game competitive. And on the field, football depends much more on the collective effort of the whole team, while basketball can be dominated by a "rugged individual" who carries most of the weight for his/her team.

and baseball is....?

Boring.

Of course, pro football is the socialist sport, with salary caps and revenue sharing to keep the game competitive.

It might seem that way at first glance, but in practice, pro football is one of the most conservative sports around. With no guaranteed contracts, veteran contributors are cut loose at a whim, or forced to renegotiate their deals to take less money for remaining with the team. Meanwhile, the league revenues go up and up, and the owners cavort in giant vaults full of cash, Scrooge McDuck style.

You don't get more conservative than that.

Of course you were kidding about TNR being liberal. Weren't you?

It's an old weblog joke-- right-wing lunatics would say something like "Even the liberal New Republic supports..." some extremely hawkish position.

Of course you were kidding about TNR being liberal. Weren't you?

It's an old weblog joke

*Whew!*